Night City
by Lisitair
Summary: "Welcome," He spoke with a flourish, a smirk forming on his dimly lit features. "to your own personalised hell, Lady Maple. Welcome to Night City." There has always been a boundary between the world of the rich and the world of the poor so what happens when the daughter of a Lord gets her entire world overturned when she is rescued by the notorious underworld gang, Night City?
1. Chapter 1

Hello all and thank you for viewing my latest story! I know I haven't updated This is War in a while but I've been drowning in school work for the past month or so so please excuse my inactivity. This is my most recent project to turn to whenever I'm feeling a bit stuck with TiW but it will still remain my main project, I just really want to edit several areas before I continue since after rereading, some parts are a bit... iffy and rushed. Hopefully it won't be long until that updates again.

Anyway, I can just feel that this story is going to have a special place in my heart because you know, today is the 5th November, otherwise known as Bonfire Night in England or my birthday. I'm treating this as a gift of sorts to you guys? I don't know how many of you will be reading this but I hope you all enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed writing it. Now, on with the story!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon **

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><p><strong>Chapter One: Red Eyed Flygon<strong>

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><p>A faux happy murmur buzzed through the air, lingering around every aristocrat present as they strutted around in expensive formal wear and elegantly plucked glasses of champagne and other small treats from the platters of passing waiters and waitresses. They laughed their fake laughs and drank in the false compliments of others, smiling and returning the gesture after a few modest comments. The women gathered together, throwing a critical eye on every garment worn that evening whilst the men prowled around the crowds, looking for an unsuspecting victim to pounce on.<p>

May Maple didn't fit in at all.

Her mother and father had dragged her to the party after they had struck up the deal. May would go to the godforsaken social gathering in exchange for them holding off their usual attempts at finding their darling baby girl the most perfect suitor they could get their hands on. Of course, it never turned out well for the brunette. She was clumsy by nature so when you were expected to become the picture of elegance and grace, her fumbling hands and remarkable ability to trip over nothing put her at a disadvantage, much to the disappointment of her parents. May knew this, of course they wanted her to marry a rich and handsome nobleman, it was probably why they brought her to the party in the first place. The host, a successful Duke, had sent out invitations to everyone of any significance and maybe her mother and father thought that she would find her partner, maybe fall in love.

May snorted an unladylike snort, earning her a look of disgust from a nearby woman in a periwinkle blue ball gown before she strode away. It didn't bother her in the slightest, it was almost sad but she had grown accustomed to such treatment over the years but still. Her, in love? It was a ludicrous idea because May Maple first and foremost did not fall in love. May Maple was far too invested in her other interests to pay any attention to anyone else. May Maple scorned the idea of romantic love and rolled her eyes at the sappy interactions of couples. May Maple hated the idea of becoming a mere prize for men to show off.

"Now May, remember what we agreed to." A hand rested upon her shoulder. She didn't have to look up to know that it was her father addressing her, his deeper voice layered with exasperation. "Please, at least try. Just for tonight."

"I'll try Papa but there aren't any guarantees." She shrugged, placing her own hand on top of his and making eye contact. "It's not my problem if everyone else has issues."

Her father sighed and gave a small smile. "That's all I ask for, dear."

And at that, she felt somewhat guilty. Her parents had such high expectations for her and she couldn't even dream of beginning to fulfil them. Was she supposed to be perfect? She certainly wasn't perfect.

Was she gentle? That almost earned another snort of disbelief. She practically wrestles her younger brother to the ground every other day after he recites his whole 'problems with his sister' speech. The little brat had the nerve to poke fun at her eating habits and not so ladylike nature. Unbelievable. Children really needed to learn to respect their seniors.

It was a harsh reality but she was the furthest away anyone could be from the image of a perfect lady. Of course, her parents had learned to deal with that over time and loved her all the same, but grand balls like this simply weren't her cup of tea so to speak.

"Ah, Baron Cacture!" Her father's cheerful tone drew her attention to the one he was addressing, no doubt another noble in the vicinity.

May put on her best forced smile, one that didn't quite meet her eyes but she still made an effort to look like she wanted to be there. Despite her hatred of grandeur, she despised to idea of shaming her parents who brought her up with all the care and affection that she could ever desire, it was the least she could do after all.

"Lord Maple." A rather haughty voice acknowledged the presence of her father.

She glanced towards the speaker and was rather taken aback by the outrageous shade of purple that tinged his hair. The man had an air of superiority around him, eyes narrowed slightly as he stuck up his nose whilst addressing her father. At first glance, his clothes looked well made, his outfit being made up of a patterned forest green shirt that was possibly made out of silk. May couldn't tell but the way it almost shined as he moved was almost blinding. Sheesh. Some people needed to tone it down a notch.

"It's a surprise to see you here, isn't it? I wouldn't have thought that Duke Matsubusa would extend an invitation to you and your family."

That did it.

He was looking down on them.

An overwhelming feeling of anger surged through her, her hands balled up into fists beside her. She saw red. May already knew that her family weren't regarded as important in Hoenn but there was no need to be so obnoxiously rude!

The hand found its place on her shoulder again, almost urging her to calm down. Taking a deep breath, May let go of her rage, finally bringing herself to look the man in the eye.

"It seems that he remembered us after all." Norman responded curtly, his hand unmoving. "It's good to make your acquaintance once more."

"Right." Cacture almost sneered before shifting his beady gaze to the teenaged girl beside the lord. "Ah, is this one yours, Maple? What a pleasant little monster you have there."

Ah, what? Oh. She was glaring at him. Oops. She should fix that quickly.

Her eyes softened as her father spoke up once more. "That's right." He completely ignored the monster comment as if it had never been uttered. "This is my daughter, May Maple."

They stared each other down. Baron and Lady. "Oh how pleasant it must be to have such a man for a father, Lady Maple."

"It is." She responded coolly, fingers twitching. Cacture didn't seem to notice, even if he did, he didn't mention it.

"It must be lovely to live with barely enough to sustain yourself. Rather shameful isn't it? For a Lord no less."

"It's fine." She muttered, doing her best to continue smiling. "It is better to not have much and cherish all you have rather than have too much and cherish none."

His eyes flashed for a brief moment. "Well said Lady Maple." His tone was that of an adult handing out obligatory compliments to a small child after learning their first words.

_Arceus, he was infuriating. _

"Spoken like a true commoner, am I right?" He laughed his flamboyant laugh that sounded much too forced to be anything but. "Well it has been nice to catch up, Lord Maple. I must be off now." His gaze darkened for a moment as he shot May a final look. "And you better watch your backs, you don't know who will take advantage of this pretty little thing over here." Cacture laughed again as if he was joking before sauntering off into the crowd, yelling at a waiter just before he disappeared into the swarm of people.

May let out a breath she hadn't realised that she had been holding when he finally disappeared from view. "Strange, irritating man." She hissed under her breath as her father sighed.

"You did well seeing as it was your first time meeting him." He admitted, running a hand through his hair. "I would have preferred to avoid him but he would have taken personal offence if I hadn't tried to speak to him for the entire evening. I figured it was better to get it out of the way now whilst he was still in a good mood and not later when someone else like Baroness Saori puts him in his place."

Baroness Saori? Where had she heard that name before? It was oddly familiar but May couldn't remember where. Maybe she was some important noble but May seemed to have looked confused because her father answered her inquiries without her having to utter a word.

"Your mother speaks fondly of her." He scanned the ground, looking for where Caroline had disappeared off to. "It wouldn't surprise me if the two have already found each other."

Oh. That was where. She remembered the repeated gushing of her mother, her name was Solidad Saori if her memory served her well. There was even a picture of her with Caroline hung up in their living room, a pink haired woman several years older than May herself and she was positively stunning, long flowing hair as smooth as silk and deep blue eyes in an intensely pretty shade. May was almost jealous that such a person existed.

"So what's her connection to Baron Cacture? I hadn't realised that someone would willingly talk to him."

Her father laughed, eyes shining once more, having put the latest clash with the baron behind him. "They like to bash their heads together each time they meet and bring out their claws, so to say. She generally tends to come out on top though."

May giggled. "Oh, that's good. It must be a nice feeling to knock him down a peg or two."

Norman was about to respond before his name was called by a group of nobles with pleasant looks on their faces. From the way he reacted to them, they must have been friends from work.

May's father was a peacekeeper of sorts in the small settlement of Petalburg City, in fact, he was the leading operator there so he often kept in touch with his counterparts from other towns of Hoenn. All eight of them had been trained in the art of self-defence and Pokemon Battling, an area that May herself shirked from due to some unreasonable fear she had developed for the creatures when she was still young. She shuddered at the thought, at least her father's were well trained and had made a habit to not approach the teen unless they wanted to be greeted with a high pitched shriek that would shatter the eardrums of anyone in the vicinity. Nope. They had learnt their lesson after the fifth time.

"So Norman, has work been keeping you busy?" A man with bright blue hair questioned, looking uncomfortable and out of place from wearing a suit and tie for the evening. "Dewford is an island so it's been peaceful in the past but you'd be surprised at how frantic the League is getting."

"That's right." A brown haired woman piped up. "There's that one group who've been causing more havoc than usual-"

"Stealing important League Documents–" A shot haired girl interrupted with a scowl.

"Picking off important higher ups-" Another who looked just like her but with longer tresses added.

The first woman pulled a face at the pair's antics. "And they've been wiping out entire League Data Bases."

May's father reacted to the news with raised eyebrows. Apparently he hadn't heard anything of it before which came as a surprise to the others considering the group's infamous reputation amongst the underworld residents. "How do you know it's all been them..?"

A white haired man, the oldest of the group, chose to answer the question. "They leave behind the same mark at every scene. Ah… what was it again? Ah yes, a black Flygon with glowing red eyes… And their name was-"

He paused, almost as if for added effect, staring his colleagues straight in the eyes.

"Night City."

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><p>May took a deep breath, the cold night air stinging her throat and lungs. She has excused herself from the small group of her father's 'work buddies' after the conversation turned almost stifling as they began to converse about private affairs and rumours regarding the mysterious gang. There was a quick introduction to the rest of the nobles before she hurriedly scurried out of the room ('Watson, you scared the poor girl off!') and promised to not get lost.<p>

So here she was, leaning against the rails of a balcony somewhere in the manor. It was only when she got outside had the realised that it was suffocating in that Arceus forsaken ballroom. Here, it was nice. A chorus of Kricketot could be heard chirping in the background, she didn't like them but even she could appreciate the finer points of life.

Below her, she could just make out the outlines of numerous trees and bushes that made up the garden. Moonlight reflected off the water gurgling quietly from the centrepiece of the allotment, a white marble fountain crafted into the form of two Pokemon May didn't recognise but her brother undoubtedly would. He was aspiring to just be like their father so of course, he studied extensively throughout the day and trained whenever he could as soon as he became old enough to receive his first Pokemon. It was hardly surprising that that made her parents turn to him to uphold the family name, it wasn't like she was doing anything productive anyway.

May let out a sigh, resting her chin against the thick rails, tilting her head to the side as she raised her arms up to cushion it from the unwelcome cold of the metal it was made from. Her parents' highest hopes for her were to get married to a rich man and that in itself was pathetic. A pitiful notion. If only she could find something to do to make her parents proud…

"Well, who do we have here?" May spun around defensively, she had been too deep in her thoughts to even notice the glass doors open, much less hear a man walk in.

The first thing she noticed about him was the considerable amount of red splashed upon his attire, his slicked back hair, clothes and even boots were all shaded the same hue of red. The second was the frown that adorned his face as he scanned the teen in front of him from head to toe, clearly wordlessly judging her from where he stood.

"W-who are you?" She managed to speak out, trying her best to conceal that fact that she had been caught off guard with no place else to turn.

At her tone, the man's frown disappeared to be replaced by a warm smile, vastly different to those made by the nobles in the ball room. "Relax my dear, I didn't intend to frighten you." He held up his hands as if talking down an agitated beast. "My name is Maxie Matsubusa and I was merely surprised to find someone else here, much less a beautiful young girl."

Maxie… Matsubusa? May's eyes widened considerably and she lowered her head into a sharp bow. "Oh Arceus I'm so sorry! I hadn't realised that it was you, please forgive my impertinence." The man who stood before her was the owner of the very mansion that the party was being held in, the duke who has sent out invitations far and wide to welcome those into his humble abode.

"Nonsense child." He laughed. "I am the one who is at fault seeing as it was I who appeared without warning and startled you. Lift your head, there is no need for formalities here. Tell me, what is your name?"

May straightened up with reluctance, thinking back to the lessons her mother had drilled into her for proper conduct when dealing with a noble of much higher status, the Duke being one of them. "My name? I am May- er- Maybelle Maple, Duke Matsubusa."

"Ah, Maple?" He looked thoughtful, raising a hand to his chin like the detectives in the old stories. "Norman and Caroline's daughter? You look like the spitting image of your mother, I should have guessed."

"Thank you..?"

He let out another chuckle at her awkwardness. "That reminds me, I have yet to greet them tonight, and no doubt that Baron Cature is giving him a hard time for it."

May smiled, a genuine smile- probably the first one she had shown that night. "He already came, Duke Matsubusa."

He shrugged. "It was inevitable." The duke took several steps forward to join the girl at the edge of the balcony. "So, what do you think of my garden?"

"It's beautiful." She admitting, turning around again to face away from the manor. "I especially like the fountain."

"As do I, Miss Maple." Maxie nodded. "It cost a fortune but it's worth it, eh? The Legendary Pokemon, Groudon and Kyogre, what I would give to even catch a glimpse of those in person."

She nodded and smiled along, as if she knew what he was talking about. In reality, the two names he had just given went straight over her head but the term Legendary Pokemon wasn't unfamiliar to her. Max would often gush about them and it had come to her knowledge that they were all powerful beings, much like the well-known Arceus, the creator of the world.

"Me too… But I don't know too much about them." She admitted, knotting her fingers together behind her back.

"Not many people do." He muttered, running a hand through his hair whilst the other shifted in his pocket. "Look." He diverted her attention to the fountain. "The one that's standing on its hind legs with those sharp claws is named Groudon, it has power over the land and some say that Groudon has the ability to create land."

"Wow." She leaned forwards, squinting as she tried to make out the outline of the Legendary in the moonlight and completely missing the shift in her companion's expression as he continued to talk.

"They say that it once clashed with Kyogre, the one who has power over the seas and-" He dropped his voice to a low mutter, speaking into her ear. "I'm awfully sorry for this, Miss Maple."

"What-"

May had no time to react as she finally realised that his presence was right behind her. An arm wrapped itself around her to restrict her own movement before a cloth was pressed firmly against her own mouth and nose. Gasping for breath and struggling, she could begin to taste the scent of something sweet before her eyelids dropped and the pressure around her disappeared.

Her entire world went black but not before she cursed her own stupidity and naivety at being so trusting.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> Aaaand here we are! Please remember to leave a review and tell me what you think, I swear, hearing from you guys makes me happier than a pig in mud.

Thanks for reading,

Lisitair


	2. Chapter 2

Greetings once again as I bring you the second chapter of Night City! I must admit, I may or may not have rushed this a tad and there are certain areas that I'm not particularly happy with (rewriting isn't helping here) but I hope that it's up to standard...

A huge thank you to Piplup1212, Quartzclaw, MeliaAntiqua, StarShine65, Ready To Flyxxx and a guest for leaving a review, I really appreciate each and everyone one of them ^^ So onward to the rest of the story!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon **

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><p><strong>Chapter Two: <strong>Déjà vu all over again<strong>**

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><p>The world was a haze, a spinning maelstrom of darkness complete with an irritating throbbing pain located somewhere near the back of the head to go with it. To May, maybe it was more like having a pile of bricks thrown at her skull, what, with the mind numbing pain that streaked across her crown whenever she shifted even the smallest millimetre. She felt numb and dazed yet every now and again, a blur of incoherent words and laughter sounded nearby, her mind not fully in the right place to comprehend the jumble of cacophonic sounds. They all melded together like paint on a pallet, unable to differentiate between different layers.<p>

_Concentrate May_, she thought to herself, trying to focus her eyes to no avail. It was too dark and no matter how hard she tried to keep her eyes open, her eyelids were too heavy to hold up. Maybe she should just try to get to sleep…

_Ah, footsteps?_

Something seemed to be getting closer but she couldn't really tell. In her fatigued stupor, her senses had become skewed but May could swear that she felt a presence beside her. If only she could find a- Oh wait. The longer she had been conscious for, the more her ability to perceive returned to her. It was only now that she realised that her inability to move previously had something to do with the strange pressure around her ankles and wrists, most likely the work of rope or chains- something like that. And her eyes. She mentally scolded herself for not even noticing it earlier but the darkness hadn't been caused by the lack of light in the room, not by a long shot.

The presence from before seemed to fiddle around with something before her eyes were attacked by the blinding light that suddenly appeared, seemingly from nowhere. May almost yelped, hurriedly squeezing them shut at the pain which induced another laugh from nearby.

She scowled.

Hesitantly cracking an eye open, she scanned the room- well, as much of it as she could see. It seemed that her hypothesis was correct as a quick glance down told her that her limbs were bound tightly with a thick coil of rope… She wasn't getting out of _that_ anytime soon.

"It looks like you're awake, _Lady Maple_." A tone was mocking and vaguely familiar, drawing out her title with a sneer.

Her brow shot up and flinched away from the close proximity of it was great difficulty, leading her to fall flat on her face. "!" Her voice was muffled by the piece of tape plastered to her mouth but a tone of surprise could still be detected.

May's actions drew out another laugh from the room's other habitants. A look of pure hate was directed at three- no, four- men who watched her every move and found entertainment from within her struggle. Despicable, even more so than the stuck up aristocrats back at the party…

_The party!_

She had no idea where she was as of now and neither would her parents… And what happened on the balcony… May narrowed her eyes, glancing back at the original speaker to be met by the casually smiling face of the man in red. The dastard himself.

"Duke Matsubusa…" She managed the sound out as she caught his gaze. "Why-"

But her words were drowned out by his laugh, now much colder than before as a shadow passed across his face. "Oh… Stupid little girl." He crouched down, helping her sit up again with a smug look that the brunette wanted to punch off his face. "Did you parents never warn you about talking to strangers? Especially if you're deep within their own house where no one can hear you _scream_."

The goons present hooted with laughter at the man's comment, the top half of their faces obscured by their crimson hoods. Now that she looked harder, they were all donning more or less the same uniform which had the same predominantly red theme to them, just like a particular individual with the false smile.

"Good one boss." One chortled, not moving from his place where he was guarding the door with another.

'Boss' looked at him with distain before straightening himself back up. "So Lady Maple, any thoughts? A final message perhaps, to your dear family before we ship you off to Unova? How about a cry of protest whilst you demand why a person of my status would be doing something like this?"

She remained silent, glaring at him from where she sat. She wasn't going to give him the pleasure of a reaction no matter how pissed she was at her current predicament. But as much as she hated to admit it, his words _did_ strike horror within her. Unova? May had no idea what was happening but it was a no brainer that it wouldn't exactly be… pleasant to say the least. What was this even a case of? Kidnapping? Human Trafficking? She shuddered at the thought but it was at times like these that she wished that she had listened to her father's rants on work; he was always dealing with evil syndicates and gangs and this one seemed way too organised to have stayed off his radar for long.

"Nothing?" Maxie looked disappointed at the lack of her reaction minus the glare that remained in her eyes. "Such a shame." He sighed, striding towards the large windows where the rich velvet curtains had already been drawn. "Even if you don't feel like asking, I'll bless you with an answer. See, how else do you think I've gotten this rich?" The man gestured around the room they were currently in.

It was quite a spectacle, something that even her own family would struggle to keep up. There was an intricate crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling, casting its light across the furniture, mahogany possibly and adorned with red cloth that reflected the lambent glow. Numerous paintings hung of the walls, their frames gilded with what looked like gold leaf. Despite finding herself quite uncomfortable, her environment was the stark opposite, a room fit for even the Champion.

"You remember those two legendary Pokemon we conversed about earlier, correct?"

Her memory around that time was still a little hazy, but the fountain was still a clear image in her mind. The names? Not so much. If she was completely honest, she doubted that she would have even remembered them without being knocked out and trussed up like a pig.

"They're my dream. I would give anything to see them, like I mentioned before and I'm afraid that you've been caught up in this little mess." His words appeared to be an apology but his tone was still as cold as ever. "I have contacts in Unova who are helping me track them down but in exchange for their aid…" Maxie shot a smile at her. "You do understand, right Lady Maple? I'd do anything to have that Groudon under my control and you'll play your own part in making that a reality. For that, I thank you, maybe even compensate your parents a bit when they finally find out that you're gone."

May clenched her teeth, resisting the urge to spit in his face and demand that he never goes near them ever again. If he noticed, he didn't acknowledge it as he continued his little speech.

"How should I explain it to them? Maybe make up a little story." His lips spread into a wide smile. "How about that I caught you on your way out of the manor where you confessed to me that you secretly despised your parents and you took this opportunity to run away? Of course, I did my best to stop you but I was powerless against a feisty little monster such as yourself and you disappeared off into the night, never to be seen again."

Her eyes widened considerably, desperately wanting to speak up against the lie but her restraints were truly doing their job. _No no no no no_. It would crush them if they ever heard that, maybe leave them with the ever present question of what they did wrong hanging over them for the rest of their lives. _No no no no no!_

"Hm?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "That sounds good to you? Maybe I'll go with that. I'll make sure that I capture the broken looks on their faces when I tell them and send it to you over in Unova. You'll be sure to enjoy that." Maxie frowned suddenly, spinning to face the most intimidating figure in the room. "Tabitha, how long do we have left until the Plasma ship docks?"

"Around an hour, sir." A man answered, clearly more important than the rest of the probably grunts around him.

Maxie scowled. "Too long… Throw her in the back room with the others."

"Yes sir."

Two men approached her and it was pointless to even struggle. May could only watch at they grabbed her by the arms and hoisted her into the air whilst one other triggered the switch to a hidden room by tapping the button found under the desk.

"You'll find that you won't be lonely for the rest of your time here, Lady Maple. Maybe you'll even make some new friends."

From what she could see, the new exit was followed by a series of stone steps, dimly glowing from the light of the chandelier. A series of shuffling and raspy breaths could be heard from the very bottom, leaving much for the imagination. Without much indication, the brunette could already guess what she would find and the very thought of it made her blood run cold.

"Be thankful you won't stay here for long, Lady Maple. Many before you have had the… pleasant experience of residing in this little back room for-"

His obnoxious voice was interrupted by the sudden shattering of glass in the room, the curtains billowing out from the force of the gales that blew around the south side of the manor. May winced as she fell to the ground, dropped by the two grunts as they raised their arms to shield their faces from the worst of the broken material flying in every direction. The lights flickered before finally enveloping the room in darkness.

"W-what's going on?!" She heard the Duke shout, his tone no longer smooth and confident like it was before, now dripping with alarm and panic. "What happened to the security?!"

"Boss-" Tabitha began before an unidentified object, possibly a dagger, whistled past his face with deadly accuracy, slamming against the wall with a soft 'twang'. The man let out a growl before firing off a rapid string of curses. "Boss, that symbol… We have to-"

"Yes, I know." Maxie snapped, hesitantly raising his head having buried it within his arms to shield himself from the worst of the glass. "We'll regroup later where the Plasma ship will be docking, go and erase all of our files from the database, no doubt _those people_ will be trying to hack into our system as we speak."

"Sir."

The series of footsteps grew fainter, a clear indication that the two had already disappeared into the labyrinth of halls that made up the manor whilst leaving the remaining group members behind and disorientated. May let out a short sigh of relief. Sure, she hadn't managed to escape yet but the sliver of hope that reassured her safety still remained. After all, hadn't those two high tailed it out of the manor? By appearance and treatment, she assumed that those still nearby were simply mere grunts, those with the inability to think for themselves so it was highly unlikely that they would ever think to act without their leader's orders.

"Tch. Looks like they got away." May froze as a new voice could be heard above the constant flapping of the curtains. It was distinctly masculine, not exactly deep but nowhere close to the range of a prepubescent boy like her own brother.

She could hear them moving around cautiously, as if to avoid stepping on the shards of glass that littered the once beautiful room. Were they… getting closer? She sucked in her breath and squeezed her eyes shut, maybe they would just leave her alone if they thought that she was unconscious. May's thoughts were completely shattered as she could almost feel the stranger's gaze boring a hole into her body, staring her down with scrutiny for an increasingly long period of time.

"What are you doing just standing there?" A second voice. "Get a move on, they're getting further and further from our reach as we speak."

The first person snorted, finally tearing his gaze away from the teen on the ground. "Calm down, our initial goal isn't even their capture, the others should be finishing up soon so there isn't any need for us to-"

"That isn't the point."

A pause.

"Then what-"

"You know I'm right. I'm the pro in this field, just listen to what I say, grass head."

A disgruntled noise followed before a sigh. "Fine, fine. I'll leave you to clean up the Magma grunts but you better hurry up. There's also a civilian here you might want to pass on before you move ahead."

As the first intruder made to move away, May cracked open an eye. It was dark. She could barely see anything but the faint outline of the person standing before her with a flash of pale green as the moon's glow flickered and vanished at random intervals due to the flapping of the curtains. From where she lay, she could make out nothing remarkable about the figure in question. They were of average height with no physical features that really stood out.

What truly drew her attention was the wicked blade grasped in his hand, the metal glinting whatever light managed to make its way into the small room. May internally shirked away from it, unable to actually move but still doing her best to put as much distance between her and whatever she could call that weapon. The casual way that they held it or the rather nefarious looking design it had, she didn't know but something about it made her nervous.

"Then get a move on." The second voice grumbled, leaving from their place at the window. There were more fast paced foot falls as the first left. "Right." They seemed to be speaking directly to the brunette lying prone on the ground. "I'm sorry but I have no choice but to do this."

_What?_

They grew closer and closer and for the second time that day, May heard a quick apology before she fell into a state of unconsciousness.

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><p>May awoke with a start, gasping for breath with her body drenched in sweat. What had just happened? The last thing she remembered was the mansion… And the glass breaking… Those people… And… Green hair?<p>

The last thought was rather confusing but-wait, where was she? Looking around, she found herself in a room much less fanciful, most likely a bedroom of sorts; something given away by the rather plush bed she found herself on. The restraints had disappeared, leaving dark purple and blue splotches where they rubbed against her skin and it seemed like she had received a change of clothes as the girl noticed that she was wearing a plain white night dress, completely different attire to what she had been wearing to the gathering.

Discounting the bruises and several mysterious cuts that marred her arms and face, she was otherwise unscathed and in a much more… relaxing… environment than her previous. But it was too quiet.

Where was the one who helped her?

What happened to those people?

Questions buzzed around her mind before she eventually decided that the best way to get answers was to go look for them herself. Quite literally. May heaved herself out of the bed, the duvet falling away as she moved. Her ankles ached as she shifted her weight to her feet but it was nothing she couldn't handle. A quick tug of the doorknob told her that it had been locked from the outside, forcing the girl to make do with searching the room she was currently in.

In the corner was a rather large wardrobe that was full of clothes, most of which were of commoner quality but to May's surprise, there were several extravagant garments thrown in there as well. Judging by size and style, they belonged to a young girl, possibly her own age possibly less and that took her by surprise. Her memory recalled that none of the voices in that room fit the character who appeared in her mind, a bubbly girl with a keen love for fashion.

Ah, never mind; she'll deal with that when she has to.

Moving on, she passed several shelves chock full of an array of books, mostly thick novels with worn, leather bound covers. She even recognised a few from her mother's own collection in their library at home, tracing her finger across the spine before going to explore the rest of the room with a heavy heart.

Next was a desk complete with a mirror, littered with several bottle of perfume and aerosols, all of them half used. There were also several scraps of paper lying around and a bound journal secured with a small, silver lock. The more and more May saw, the more she felt enveloped in a strange sense of security… It was too normal.

"Too quiet." May muttered to herself, gingerly rubbing her wrists.

BANG.

She jumped. A door had slammed from somewhere, followed by a series of footsteps that steadily got louder. There was the sound of metal against metal as whoever was outside slid the key into the keyhole for several moments, almost struggling to get it in the right place to unlock the door.

May instinctively grabbed one of the bottles on the table, shifting her finger towards to nozzle and pointing it towards the entrance. Unpleasant past experiences had put her off being unable to fight back but this time, she was prepared.

It all happened so quickly. The door swung open with force to reveal a girl with long navy blue hair just a moment too late to prevent May from squeezing the trigger to release a spray of scented liquid from the insides of whatever she was holding. That in itself caused the girl to drop the heavy, metal first aid kit she had in her arms onto the brunette's unprotected toe as she reflexively moved her hands towards her burning eyes.

The sound of two voices shrieking in pain at the top of their lungs ran through each room at a deafening tone, much to the surprise of the building's other inhabitants. One thought and one thought alone simultaneously appeared in their minds.

_What the hell is going on up there?_

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> And with that, we conclude this chapter with the introduction of a few new characters and getting off on the wrong foot. Be sure to leave a review and tell me what you think!

Thanks for reading,

Lisitair


	3. Chapter 3

Am I allowed to make like May and start this off with an apology? Because I really am sorry for taking so long to update this story and I genuinely don't deserve readers with such kind reviews. I could just sit here and make all sorts of excuses about why this is so late (sorry again), ranging from periods of writers blocks to mocks, but I won't waste anymore time and just get on with the story.

Oh! And before I forget, Merry Christmas to everyone reading! It might not be the 25th in some parts of the world when this goes up but it's nearly 4am in England and I've just churned out 2k+ words as quickly as I could to make up for generally being an ass about updates. It's Christmas and here is my awfully written and rushed present to you guys.

A huge thank you to QuartzClaw, Sakura Touko, Melia Antiqua, Catherine45, Ready To Flyxxx and Piplup1212 for reviewing! There's no better motivator other than reading through your comments and it's seriously helped me through writing over half of this story just now.

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon**

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><p><strong>Chapter Three: Welcome to Night City<strong>

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><p>"I'm so terribly sorry!" May bowed her head hurriedly as she apologised for the umpteenth time.<p>

The girl had eventually introduced herself as Dawn but not before rolling on the ground whilst screeching and clutching her eyes. May would have found it rather comedic if her conscience hadn't weighed her down, her guilt growing ever stronger.

"A-ah… It's okay." She sat cross legged on the ground, rubbing her red eyes with tears streaking down her face, something that the girl had adamantly claimed were her body's natural reflex as it tried to remove as much of the spray as possible. "At least my eyeballs smell like Wild Mountain Roses" Dawn added with false cheer, laughing pathetically at her own joke.

May giggled feebly, gingerly rubbing her toes. "But I'm awfully sorry." She lowered her gaze to the floor. "I shouldn't have done what I did-"

"No, no. It's really okay. I probably would have done the exact same… Just with a less expensive brand…" The guilt returned once more, heavier than ever. "Ah no! I didn't mean it like that!" The girl frantically tried to correct her mistake at May's downcast expression. "Just forget it; I'll be fine in a few more minutes."

May nodded slowly, fidgeting form where she sat as the girl set right the medical box she had come in with, rummaging around the contents for plasters and a bottle of something that she couldn't identify. Briefly wondering how they could help her eyes, May could barely react before the shorter girl lunged across in a flash and poured the contents of the bottle over her arms where the once forgotten cuts lay.

They weren't forgotten anymore.

Dawn grimaced as May hissed. "Ether, it hurts like hell. Sorry but I had to." She shrugged. "You wouldn't want to scar, would you? It's all Paul's fault for not being careful when he broke the window." She made a noise of disapproval. "That guy doesn't care about anything. Do me a favour May, during your time here, stay away from the guy with purple hair; he's more trouble than he's worth."

Purple hair? The only other person she knew who had purple hair was Baron Cacture and he wasn't exactly the most pleasant person to be around. Maybe it was the hair colour that made them crazy. Can shades get to their head?

"Duly noted." The brunette made to wipe away the liquid on her arms before her hand was slapped away.

"Don't do that." Dawn advised, blinking rapidly as she got up. "It's going to itch for a while but-" She tapped her nose as she reminded the girl once again. "Scars."

The girl flitted around her room, swiftly correcting any indication that May had been shuffling around her stuff. At the desk, she eyed the locked journal but after flipping it through her hands for several moments and deeming it undisturbed, she set it down again. An awkward silence ensued, only disturbed by the younger girl's footsteps as she moved around whilst May simply stayed on the ground, her arms burning.

"So…" May began in an unsure tone. Dawn hummed in response, the only indication that she was listening. "Um… If you don't mind me asking, where am I?"

"That's classified." The blue haired girl responded curtly, rummaging through her wardrobe and scowling at irregular intervals with her eyebrows furrowed in thought.

"Ah, okay." That threw her off guard. Was this place so secretive that she wasn't even allowed to know her location? "Then how did I get here? All I recall is suddenly losing consciousness and then waking here."

Dawn paused, staring the girl down for a full moment or so before replying. "Drew carried you." She said simply. "You're only here because I doubt you'd prefer to be in one of the guys' rooms, Misty's place is just as bad and Leaf had to go out for a bit."

She was being vague, May noticed, with descriptions. Almost as if she was purposely skirting around the more sensitive information.

"I mean." She continued. "You _could_ have stayed in Leaf's room but there's zero privacy in there. Everyone in this house knows not to enter my room without permission after what happened last time." The girl gestured to a single Pokeball clipped to her belt which May glanced at nervously. No. She couldn't deal with monsters right now, her current situation was a tense as it is. "So you're stuck with me until we get you a room or we wipe your memories and send you on your merry way, it'll be as if this entire ordeal never happened so- ah wait moment, here."

Dawn cut her small speech short as she pulled out a simple outfit, the majority of which was red, before throwing it in May's direction.

"…What's this?"

"Well, we can't have you running around in a nightgown all day, can we?" Dawn shrugged. "It should fit but tell me if it doesn't, I have a ton of clothes that I don't wear anymore because they were all used in disguises. Sure we may be criminals but that doesn't mean that we can't look good on missions-"

"I'm sorry, what?" May interrupted, sharply inhaling. "Did you just say criminals?"

Dawn's eyes widened at her blunder. "What? No! I said miserable- no wait! I mean… Individuals! Yeah, individuals." She tried to nervously laugh it off. Key word: tried. "Maybe we should check for any damage to your ears, I heard that the glass pretty much went everyone."

She laughed again, her back turned as May changed her attire. At first glance, Dawn had seemed quite a lot younger and smaller than her but the clothes fit surprisingly well and wasn't at all stuffy and restricting like the ball gowns her parent's tailor forced her into on a regular basis. Whilst small, it felt like one small freedom in her life and she might as well enjoy it whilst it lasted.

"So," Dawn began again when May had finished changing. "Are you hungry? You've been out for a while so I assume that-"

She was cut off by the loud growling of the older girl's stomach, much to her embarrassment as her face turned a startling shade of red, much brighter than the hue of her clothing.

The two stared at each other.

A pause.

It started off as a small giggle which erupted into full blown laughter as the pair held onto each other for support before ultimately crashing to the ground.

"H-help!" Dawn choked out between breaths, struggling to stand again as she clawed at the carpet with her fingers. "I-I c-can't-"

"S-stop laughing!" May clutched her stomach with a mortified expression on her face. "This isn't funny… Oh Mew, I'm dreadfully embarrassed… B-but now that you mention it, I am rather famished."

"Well…" Dawn took a deep breath, exhaling slowly to calm herself down again as she massaged her cheeks that had gotten sore from laughing for so long. "There's always some sort of food in this place. Even if there's nothing good in the kitchen, we can always raid Ash's room once you get past the traps he sets up for potential food thieves."

"Sounds brilliant to me. My parents discovered the more taxing way that nothing can get between me and my next meal." She flashed a smile that told the blue haired girl that she wasn't joking in the slightest.

Dawn hummed in thought, giving May's arms a quick check up before deeming her fit to walk around. "Your parents? You're a noble right? That's why you were caught up in Maxie's kidnapping scheme."

She nodded. "That's correct. Officially, I'm known as Lady Maybelle Maple, the daughter of Lord Norman Maple, the peacekeeper of Petalburg City. I was rather reluctant to attend that party… I utterly despise social gatherings like that as people tend to take advantage of them to further their own standing. It's all horribly faked but I was promised by my parents that they would hold off finding potential suitors for another good while."

"Oh that must be rough." Dawn murmured absentmindedly. "I always thought that it would be so cool to be born into a noble family, they're really the best off in this world. Hang on- did you say that _Norman Maple_ was your father?"

"That's correct."

Dawn's mouth shifted into an 'o', visibly tensing up for a moment or so before her lips turned up into her usual bubbly smile. "Well, you said that you were hungry, right? So let's find you something to eat. It might not be as good as the stuff that you're used to be you'll live."

She pulled the older girl to her feet and made to move out of the room when a small, bird-like creature wandered inside. It took all of the self-restraint that May possessed to not scream and provoke the potentially wild monster. At least with her father's team, she knew that they wouldn't hurt her but now? Not so much…

"Oh, that's Ash's…" Dawn crouched down eagerly to meet the bird, untying a roll of parchment that had been hastily tied to its leg. "I wonder what he wants…"

Her eyes scanned over the sheet and it was conveniently positioned so that her shoulder blocked the contents from prying eyes, more specifically, May's eyes. The girl's overly curious nature was a trait that her mother always reprimanded but she couldn't help it, in a world where so much was going on, of course she wanted to know more about the exciting things. It came as a surprise to her that she had only learnt about the criminal gang, Night City, during the party and not long before it. Whilst her father was usually tight lipped on most topics regarding his work, his daughter knew exactly how to squeeze information from him.

"So, what is this message inquiring about?" May asked, nervously glancing down at the monster at irregular intervals. "It seems rather important."

"Oh it is." Dawn nodded, crumbling the paper into a ball and stuffing it in her pocket. "I'm sorry about this but I have to be somewhere else. If you leave this room, make a right turn, go straight until you pass the broken window and make a left there, you'll see a staircase that leads down. Go down two flights and you'll reach the general eating area."

May blinked. Pardon?

"Did you get all of that?"

She nodded. Wait, why did she nod?

"Great! I have to run but I'll catch you later though. You can come back up here when you're done to get away from everyone. Don't talk to anyone who looks over the age of 20 and don't anger the ginger girl with her hair in a side pony, it's not going to be pretty." Dawn babbled on quickly, scooping the bird into her arms and running out. "And don't go down into the basement!"

"Of course not…" May called back weakly in a nervous tone. Like she knew where that was.

But it wasn't like she could lose her way, right? The building couldn't have been _that_ big since Dawn's reaction to her noble status indicated that she wasn't high ranking within society or anything like that. She was May Maple. She couldn't possibly get lost.

She was lost.

It had turned out that the building was more of a labyrinth that anything else and Dawn's previous instructions had been none too helpful. The broken window? The last time May had checked, there were around 8 of those, not including the 3 she found in disused rooms scattered on the floor she was currently on.

Of course, she had found a staircase eventually but there was a tiny possibility that she may have gone down a couple sets of flights more than Dawn had instructed her to do. Maybe.

May groaned in frustration. She had lost the staircase again and whichever floor she was currently on was a lot darker than the rest. It was cold and draughty with the walls made up of thick stone blocks that protruded from the general structure at awkward angles. Metal brackets that contained lit sticks were the only source of light and the brunette couldn't tell which direction she was heading half of the time.

"Excuse me, miss, but what are you doing here?" A voice whispered quietly into her ear as a hand appeared on her shoulder.

May's only reaction was to do the logical thing that everyone would do in her situation. She screamed. She screamed a high pitched, deafening shriek that made her feel as if she was destroying her voice box but for good reason.

"Woah, calm down there, banshee." A second hand was clamped over her mouth, muffling her cries.

She furiously kicked out. "Banshee?" May fumed, the figure only just about being able to make out her words from under his hand.

"You know, those spirit women with the tendency to wail and scream a lot." He answered in a condescending tone.

"I know what a banshee is, thank you very much." She wrenched the hand from her mouth and spun around to face the newcomer, glaring daggers at them. "I just don't appreciate being called one."

"Okay then." It turned out to be a teenaged boy, possibly a year older than her, who simply shrugged. "Then answer my question, what are you doing here and who are you- wait no. Scratch that, I remember who you are-"

"Your voice!"

He raised an eyebrow. She hastily coughed, blushing furiously.

"I recognise your voice from the night at the manor." She quickly corrected herself, scowling. "You suddenly appeared after the lights turned out and the windows broke."

He gestured for her to continue as if waiting for her point. "And..?" May didn't know why but the way he drawled out his vowels simply infuriated her.

That was when she noticed that she didn't really have a point.

"Anyway, the name's Drew-" That rung bells in her head, it was a name that Dawn had mentioned earlier, right? He held out a hand and she shook it firmly.

"May-"

"Maybelle Maple." Drew nodded at her. "I already know, news travels fast when Dawn's the first to hear about it. But she should have also informed you not to come down here and this is a place where someone like you really shouldn't wander around." His gaze darkened as what was a once charming smile gave off an eerie feel when the torch light flickered off his face. "You wouldn't want the wrong kind of people to find you here…"

"W-what do you mean by that?" May's breath hitched in her throat. She took a step back, drawing her arms closer to her chest.

Drew laughed. "Oh no, not me." He winked. "I would never harm someone like you. It's just that there can be several shady figures walking around this area who would be a lot less understanding if your current predicament; you can blame Paul for that."

"I-I still don't really understand."

"Did Dawn not tell you anything about what you've just dragged yourself into?" The teen asked in disbelief, "She kept her mouth shut? She didn't let anything slip?"

May shook her head, noticeably keeping her distance from the boy.

"Well, I guess I have the authority to tell you." Drew grumbled, pulling a face before grinning with the appearance of someone with good news. "To put it simply, you've just found yourself in the heart of the headquarters of some infamous gang."

"H-huh?"

"Welcome," He spoke with a flourish, a smirk forming on his dimly lit features. "To your own personalised hell, Lady Maple. Welcome to Night City."

She paled, eyes widening. "You can't possibly mean…"

"Of course I do." He laughed like he hadn't just revealed his largest secret to a complete stranger, "a hundred percent serious. I pride myself in being one of the faces behind the Black Flygon, surely you've heard of us? Especially so since your father is the great Lord Norman Maple of Petalburg."

"B-but you." She stuttered. "And D-Dawn…"

"Hm?" Drew frowned, raising a hand to his chin as he pretended to be deep in thought. "She's the sweet and innocent type, isn't she? Not the kind of person you'd expect to be in a gang like ours, right? But looks at me and my dashing good looks, I don't exactly fit into this stereotype either."

Arrogant. That was the first word that came to mind. May had to admit, he did have a point. At first glance, it looked as if he cared far too much about his appearance; a clear juxtaposition between his stupidly aesthetically pleasing visage and the dank surroundings that the pair found themselves in.

"So, Princess-"

"Don't call me that. May is perfectly fine-"

"Okay then, _June_. " It was like he emphasized the name to purposely antagonize her.

"May." She seethed. "My name is May. Not any other month that you decide to spout out."

"That's hardly important." He brushed her off quickly. "What is, April, is that you need to leave this floor as soon as you want to. It may be quiet for now but Ash called a meeting a while ago and it should be ending soon-"

"MAY!" She ended up yelling, bunching her hands up into fists as she obviously blanked the rest of his words. "My name is MAY, do I have to spell it out for you? M-A-Y-"

"Shut up, would you!?" A third voice reverberated around the passageway as a second figure came into view. This time it was a girl with bright orange hair and a rather pissed off expression, so to speak. "Drew, stop screwing around and help the poor girl out before she breaks a window or something." She snorted. "Well, it's not like we don't have enough of those."

He opened his mouth to protest but was promptly cut off by the girl again. "Just get it over and done with, pretty boy. Learn to just do as you're told, why don't you? Or else I'll gut you and let Brock cook the rest of your remains."

Drew let out a nervous laugh, knowing that the most recent newcomer would hold true to her threat.

May too broke out in a cold sweat, half shocked and half intimidated by the red head. She recalled that Dawn had warned her of several things before she disappeared somewhere. One, don't go into the basement. Check and already busted for doing so. Two, don't anger the ginger girl with the side pony because it certainly wasn't going to be pretty.

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><p><strong>AN:<strong> I hope that it isn't obvious that it's horribly rushed. And yes, I managed to worm that statement from the description in here and I'm surprised because I was expected it to sound really choppy after leaving it on its own for so long. The 'meet the crew' will continue on through the next chapter or so (depends on how it flows because I honestly don't really know what I'm doing here and I'm not sure whether I should be admitting this or not).

Be sure to leave a review and tell me what you think, criticism of any kind is welcomed and if I takes absolutely ages to update again, you can message me all you like to get my butt into gear and start writing, I honestly don't mind.

**Merry Christmas once again!**

Thanks for reading,

Lisitair


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